Survival Over Secrets
by TheEliteLabRatsLover
Summary: While on a mission to save Iris from her kidnapper, Barry is injured and Oliver is forced to reveal the Flash's identity to her in order to save his life.


**Hello all! This idea has been circulating inside of my brain for like three years now. And it's just finally being written and published. So consider it an early Christmas present! **

**I love you all and I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. And if no one has told you yet, from the bottom of my heart I wish you the happiest of holidays.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own this otherwise Crisis on Infinite Earths would never have happened.**

* * *

To say that Barry was going out of his mind would be an understatement.

It had been thirty three hours since Iris had been taken.

Thirty five hours since he'd last seen her. Twenty one hours since he'd heard from her captors.

And he had no possible clue as to where she was.

So yeah, Barry felt as if he was going insane.

It was bad enough to know that she had been taken, especially by _him._ But to know there was nothing he could do about it? He hadn't felt that helpless since he was a kid.

Since _that_ night.

They'd already told everyone at the precinct. They'd done what was humanly possible. Now it was up to Barry to do the impossible.

But he couldn't.

And that's how he found himself on the phone with the one and only.

Oliver Queen.

"Ollie, I don't," He glanced behind him, hoping nobody had followed him into the small room he'd found during his pacing. "I don't know what to do. He knows who I am and now he's got Iris, and I don't even know if she's safe or where she is and I can't- I can't _do_ anything." He was panicking and he knew it.

How could he not?

"You said Rogers knew who you were?" Oliver spoke, his voice calm as ever. It was almost enough to ground Barry.

_Almost._

"Yeah, yeah. He, uh, we used to work together. At CCPD. He was fired for tampering with evidence," Barry explained. That was so long ago, he'd nearly forgotten about the whole incident.

Though he never really could.

It had been both of them up for the job at the precinct. They'd both been working so hard to get it, when Rogers had decided to cheat his way in. A coworker reported it, and Barry got the job. He'd had a vendetta against Barry ever since. They'd once been close, so of course Rogers knew all about Iris.

_This must be his sick way of getting revenge._

"And you think he got powers the same night you did?"

"He got something. I don't know what they are exactly. When he sent that video of Iris, he had knocked over some barrels or something to try and scare me. I don't know what it was, but he crushed them. That definitely wasn't humanly possible."

So he was basically going up against a meta whose powers were semi-undetermined, had an axe to grind with him, and also now had Iris captive.

And Barry had no clue as to where they were.

_Just a great situation, right?_

"Felicity's already on it, and I'll get back to you as soon as she finds something." Barry leaned back against the wall, inhaling a breath and hoping it would calm him.

It didn't.

"Barry," Oliver began. "I promise we will do everything we can to find her and bring her back safely. Okay?" His voice had softened, no doubt sensing Barry's uncertainty and worry. He closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I-I know." He sighed, adding in a quiet voice, "Thanks, Ollie." And with that, he hung up the phone, opening his eyes to glance up at the closet ceiling.

_Why did this have to be their life?_

* * *

Barry spent the rest of his day in STAR Labs, hoping to find something.

_Anything._

Caitlin and Cisco did their best to help, or even offer any semblance of comfort, but even they had their limits.

Forty two hours.

It had been _forty two hours_ since he'd last seen Iris. Barry certainly wasn't somebody to lose hope. But that didn't mean he didn't get a little desperate sometimes.

And so when he heard his phone ring, of course he answered it as fast as humanly possble. Or rather, as fast as _his_ possible.

"Oliver?"

He'd never been happier to hear those three little words.

"We found her." Barry nearly choked on the breath of relief that captured his lungs. "Rogers has got her in Star City and I'm leaving right now. Felicity is sending you my coordinates-" His voice was cut off by the revving of a motorcycle.

Barry didn't even bother to respond.

Filling in his own team on the new information, he changed into his suit and wasted no time running out of the room. He trusted them to guide him to Oliver's location.

He simply couldn't wait to get Iris back and put this guy behind bars.

For good, this time.

* * *

"And you're sure this is the place?"

Barry asked, frowning at the abandoned warehouse in front of them. It was off of some old - _basically gravel now _\- highway, amongst some other broken down buildings. It seemed to have been an old business of a sort. _Maybe a machinery based company?_

Whatever it was, it was _extremely_ sketchy and overly theatrical.

"That's what Felicity said." Oliver stated, and Barry frowned.

"Seems kinda' cliche, don't you think?" He barely even noticed the side glance Oliver gave his way. He inhaled. "Ready?"

He didn't need the nod Oliver gave him to answer his question. Every second mattered, right?

That was Oliver's logic.

And Barry certainly didn't mind doing things as fast as possible.

"You check the perimeters for any traps he may have set up and I'll find a way in that doesn't involve immediate confrontation," Oliver's gravelly voice filled his ears and just his presence was enough to keep Barry from barging right in.

_You just run in blind. There is a difference, Barry, between having powers and precision-_

With another breath of the cold night's air, he didn't waste another second before running.

_Run, Barry, run._

All he found, however, were some old pieces of metal and broken windows.

He skidded to a stop next to Oliver, stopping his momentum but not his thoughts.

He didn't even know for certain if Iris was here, or if she was even _alive_ and what if she _wasn't_ or _worse-_

"Barry."

His head jerked up at his name, and found Oliver standing in front of him. Barry saw the acknowledgement in the other man's eyes. He inhaled a breath, nodding once. "Let's go,"

Fighting against the overwhelming urge to just _run,_ he did his best to stay next to Oliver's side. Grounded, as if the man was enough to handle the lightning coursing through Barry's veins.

Turns out those broken windows came in handy when you were trying to break into an already broken into warehouse and not get caught.

It was dark, which made sense considering the time of day. But something about the moonlight reflecting on broken glass and the creaking of old metal that's been forgotten and abandoned had Barry even more on edge than before.

_If that was even possible._

Something grabbed his arm and he barely had time to suppress his fight of flight instincts before he realized it was Oliver. Barry frowned, before realizing he was pointing towards a corner of the building.

He tapped his arm in a rhythmic pattern; a practice they had been working on.

_tap. hold. two more taps. a pause._

He continued tapping Barry's arms and he finally realized what he was trying to communicate to him.

_Light._

Barry reached back over, holding Oliver's wrist and speaking once more in the silent language.

_Do you think they're both in there?_

_Let's find out._

Oliver tapped back, and Barry braced himself for what he was about to find.

Moving forward together, Oliver drew his bow and Barry steeled himself. They reached the door and shared one last glance.

A loud crash echoed throughout the empty building as Oliver kicked the wooden door down.

"Iris-" The word escaped his mouth at the sight of her- _bound and gagged but_ alive_ and_ okay - before he had the chance to stop it. He didn't hesitate to move forward into the small, dimly lit room and reached for her hands to untie her.

"Flash, wait-!"

The warning came too slow.

He turned around to see Oliver slowly crumble to the ground, a dart sticking out of his neck. Panic filled his veins and he didn't have the chance to react before-

"Nice try," He spun to face the voice, but was instead met with a fist and the last thing he saw was metal before his world erupted into a haze of starlight.

* * *

Oliver jerked awake, throwing his arms out to fend off his attacker, when a female voice broke through the haze.

"-ey, hey!" He flinched away from the unwanted touch on his arm, barely restraining himself from throwing a punch in that direction. Instead, he moved away as quickly as he could manage, blinking until the spots that filled his vision started to disappear.

"It's okay!" The voice reassured but considering the way his head felt right now he knew it couldn't be.

His vision finally cleared enough to recognize the person sitting a few feet away from him.

_Iris._

He also only now noticed the unnatural chill in the air.

He immeditaely reached up for his mask, body uncontrollably relaxing just the slightest at the relief of finding it in place.

"Yeah, don't worry. Didn't touch it. His either," She said, gesturing beside him and he glanced to the side. An unconcious Barry laid sprawled out beside him, a shiver every now and then being the only indication he was still alive.

"Where are we?" He ground out, knowing that keeping his idenity kept secret was just as essential now as ever. She sighed.

"He moved us to another building," She paused. "One with a freezer from the looks and feel of it." He frowned. She was way too calm about this. Iris shrugged. "You sort of lose that overwhelming fear of having been captured about thirty two hours into it," He nodded once, brow raised.

Turning his attention to the man beside him, Oliver gently shook him, refraining from calling his name to wake him. He shook him once more.

"Flash," He said when his other attempts at waking him failed. He shook him a bit harder this time, only causing his head to loll to the side.

He frowned.

Something wasn't right.

Moving closer to Barry's side, he noticed the blood that darkened the cowl of his suit.

That-

Was most definetly not a good thing.

He shook him a little more roughly, willing him to wake up.

"Is he okay?" Iris's voice broke him from his thoughts. He paused, unsure of what to say. He knew he could trust her because Barry trusted her but that wasn't how he operated.

Barry trusted everybody.

Oliver didn't.

That and she didn't know the Flash's identity, which really put Oliver into a tight spot.

"His head is bleeding," He answered instead. She scooted closer, and Oliver's grip on Barry's shoulders tightened, almost protectively.

"After Rogers hit him, he hit his head on one of the barrels. Is it bad?"

He didn't know.

There was no way he could know as long as his cowl stayed on.

_God, Barry, how do you always get us into these situations?_

"What do we do?"

If he knew he wouldn't be sitting there doing nothing.

She ignored his silence and continued talking.

"That doesn't look too good. His nose is bleeding, that can't be a good thing-" She almost sounded panicky now.

He probably just hit it on the barrel.

Then again what if he didn't and this was something much, _much_ worse?

"Help me get him on his side," He suddenly said, knowing that they had to act now.

He had to put pressure on the wound, but how the heck was he supposed to do that when his cowl was in the way?

_What am I supposed to do here, Barry?_

On one hand, if he removed his cowl and Iris found out his identity, Barry would never forgive him.

But on the other hand, if he did nothing Barry might never have the chance to forgive him.

That was enough to make him decide.

"Iris," He began, looking up to meet her eyes. She looked concerned, but he knew she was about to get a whole lot more so. "I do not have the time to prepare you for this. But I need you to stay calm and help me. Can you do that?" She nodded, but he knew she was confused. He sighed.

_I'm sorry, Barry._

Reaching for the cowl, he slowly slipped it over Barry's head as to not aggravate the wound any further. Ignoring the gasp beside him, he focused on elevating Barry's head and moving him onto his lap.

"Oh my God-" Iris was saying, and Oliver stopped what he was doing just long enough to get her attention.

"Iris, I need you to focus," He began, and she looked up at him with a mixture of shock and fear. She shook her head.

"I-"

"Barry needs you, Iris." He tried again, and she nodded slowly.

"What-what can I do?"

"I'm going to need your jacket."

* * *

It didn't take too long for Barry to start coming around.

Which Oliver was pretty grateful for considering they needed to focus on a way out and he couldn't really do that with an injured Barry in his arms.

_And maybe he was also grateful for a sign that Barry was still alive but he didn't need to focus on that right now._

He watched as Barry's eyes fluttered, his face twisting into a grimace. Oliver was vaguely aware of Iris scooting closer, as Barry groaned.

"Ollie-" The word was slightly garbled but Oliver still felt the heat of Iris's eyes bearing into him.

"Hey, hey. Save your strength," Oliver commanded, not ungently. Barry writhed beneath his touch, trying to turn away from the pressure Oliver was putting on the wound. "No, you need that,"_ I'm sorry_, he added silently.

"Gah, this is one hell of a hangover," Barry added in good naturedly, and Oliver found himself sighing in relief at the attempt of humor.

"Barry?" Iris questioned, and he watched the frown fill Barry's face. It was obvious his head was really bothering him, because every time he tried to open his eyes, he looked as if he was about to throw up.

Now was not an exception.

"Iris-" Barry cut himself off, pausing for a moment to breathe heavily. His skin was paling and Oliver hoped to God it was only because of the nausea.

"I can't believe this-" Iris began, still in disbelief - _which Oliver understood but now was really not the time to have this conversation_\- and Oliver cut her off.

"Hey, why don't we worry about this whole thing later once we're out of an abandoned meat locker?"

"So that's why it's sa' cold," Barry added, a shiver making him shake beneath Oliver's hands as if to unwillingly make a point.

"Rogers said something about it dampening your abilities. Said something about someone named Snart?" Iris piped in and Barry frowned.

"The Rogues talk too much," He mumbled, and Oliver didn't even want to know the backstory behind that. Right now his main concern was getting them all out of there, and getting Barry back to STAR Labs.

But that seemed slightly impossible to do so with their only hope of freedom delirious and injured. "You're really comfortable, by the way," Barry added.

Oliver sighed.

"Barry, do you think there is any possible way you can phase out of here?" He knew that, yes, that was a lot to ask and also, _yes,_ that was a lot to hope for. But he really didn't know what else to do.

Barry frowned.

"I can-, _try."_ He grunted, shifting only to fall back down with a gasp.

"Easy," Oliver cautioned, while he tried his best to regain control over his breathing.

"Give me," Pause. "A second." A few moments later, after doing his best to just _breathe_ and not _throw_ up, Barry shifted again, managing to make it into a sitting position.

Both Iris and Oliver moved to his sides to support him. "Okay-" They both lifted at the same time as he tried to stand and after stumbling a couple of times they managed to bring him to his full height.

Barry leaned heavily against his side, his head resting on his shoulder as he took a few deep breaths to center his world.

"Remind me to never go to a shady warehouse again," Barry requested quietly and Oliver couldn't help the grin that crossed his lips. Barry inhaled. "Alright," He shrugged off their support and rolled his shoulder, becoming a blur only moments later.

"What the-" Iris murmured, watching as he phased through the metal door that kept them from the outer world. They paused, waiting to hear any sound that indicated he was alright.

Nearly calling out his name, the click of a lock stopped him.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Barry mumbled in surprise as he stood there in the doorway, looking even more disheveled than before. "But I'm probably gonna' need you to catch me now-"

Years of training had Oliver moving forward to grab him before he hit the floor and made his injuries worse.

"Thanks," Barry whispered. Oliver shifted, swooping Barry up into his arms bridal style in one swift motion. His head lolled to the side, already unconscious.

Iris looked at him in fear.

"Is he-"

"Unconscious. Now let's get him out of here-"

He didn't get the chance to finish that sentence before his stomach filled with dread.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?"

Oliver spun around at the voice, to find Rogers cladded in every day clothes, casually leaning against another one of those barrels.

_Why the hell are there so many barrels in this place?_

If Oliver didn't know any better, he'd think Rogers was simply lost.

But then again it wasn't every day he had to fight a guy wearing plaid and jeans.

Rogers took a step forward and Oliver grounded his feet, resisting the urge to move away; feeling unusually vulnerable with a wounded Barry in his arms. Rogers seemed to notice and smirked.

"Ya' know, when I took you, Iris," He began. "I thought I was just getting at Barry. I knew I'd have to fend off Central City's finest but I had no clue they were the same _person._" He rubbed his chin almost thoughtfully, looking at Barry as he shivered unconsciously and Oliver's grip tightened protectively.

Rogers smirked.

"Huh. Looks like the universe was looking out for me today, doesn't it?"

"Why are you doing this, Dan? We used to be friends-" Iris piped up and Rogers' demeanor immediately turned harsh. A stark contrast from the calm and composed man before.

"Because Barry Allen deserves to be punished. He ruined my life! He took everything I'd ever worked for!"

"Maybe that's because you were the one that deserved to be punished," Oliver spoke, voice composed. Rogers stared at him.

And then he _chuckled._

"I didn't know that Star City's greenest vigilante was so close with the blur of Central City. This really couldn't have worked out better-" Oliver merely glared at the man.

He sighed.

"Well, this has been fun and all but your friend here isn't looking too good," Oliver barely took the chance to spare a glance at Barry, stomach twisting at how pale he was and the blood that continued pouring from his head.

_Head injuries tend to bleed a lot, you're just over exaggerating-_

He knew that wasn't true.

"-so why don't I take you all out of your misery now, eh?"

Oliver looked up to meet the barrel of a gun.

He barely had time to brace himself before a shot rang out.

But the bullet never hit.

He immediately looked down at Barry who was untouched, before glancing back at Iris who seemed as shocked as he was.

It wasn't until he heard a _thud_ land in front of him that he realized it had been Rogers who had been shot.

Emerging from the shadows stood their savior John Diggle.

_Thank God._

He had never been so happy to see the man.

As John pocketed his gun, he gestured towards Barry.

"Heard you needed a hand,"

"What are you doing here? Not that I'm complaining-"

"STAR Labs contacted us and said his vitals were tanking and that they couldn't reach you. So they sent me out,"

"Yeah, turns out freezers don't have the best reception." Iris piped in, stepping forward. John acknowledged her with a nod, before glancing up at Oliver with a look of concern.

"She knows his identity," He confirmed and John nodded in response, inhaling.

"Well, alright then. What are we waiting around here for?" Diggle asked, and they began to make their way out of the warehouse, Oliver trying his best not to jostle Barry. They let Iris go ahead a little ways, leaving them to trail behind before she noticed.

"Where are we going to take him? Iris can't know about you-"

"We have to take him back to the base. I guess Iris is gonna' learn a few things about our operation." Oliver sighed, noticing John's hesitance. "I know, I know, but Barry's life is more important than our identities. We can keep the masks on but this is our only choice, John," Dig nodded.

"Yeah, I guess. Cisco and Caitlin should be there by the time we get back. They were on their way when they contacted us," Now it was Oliver's turn to nod.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

* * *

To say that Iris was unhappy when they made it back to the base where Cisco and Caitlin waited, would be an understatement.

But she had been more worried over Barry's safety than learning his identity.

Now though, as she waited to hear about his condition, she wasn't sure how to feel. Seeing him injured and unconscious like that, well, it just kept bringing up memories from _that_ night.

And that certainly wasn't something she tried to think about often.

But then again, how could he keep such a huge secret from her? She thought they were best friends even though some things were difficult and then with Eddie and everything _but still_-

Did her dad know?

Cisco and Caitlin did and no one ever could keep a secret from her dad. So she really was the only one that didn't know.

_What else were they keeping from her?_

She glanced up at the sound of footsteps entering the small room, only to see the green cladded vigilante in front of her.

Days past she might have been scared, or even in awe to see Star City's hero.

But now she was merely numbed.

"I thought you might want to know how Barry is doing," It wasn't a question.

In the back of her head a voice whispered _that Barry trusted this stranger, but not even you-_

"He's stable." The man stated, oblivious to her inner monologue. Or choosing to ignore it.

Something about the man felt as if he knew everything.

She breathed a breath of relief she hadn't even been aware she'd been holding.

"They said he had a skull fracture, but thanks to his," He paused. "Abilities, and what we did, he'll be fine." His voice was almost gentle, despite the gravelly tone to it. But it irked her, almost, how every one treated her as if she were glass.

_She'd been kidnapped for God's sake._

She didn't need to be babied.

"Good," She spoke, quietly. She expected him to leave after that, but he only stood there. A few moments passed.

"I understand your anger, Iris." She scoffed before she could stop it. "I do. But I think it's misplaced," She frowned, pushing herself up off the bench to reach her full height.

"I'm sorry, but I don't even know who you are. How the hell am I supposed to take advice from some-"

"You care about Barry." He interrupted. "I'm his friend, too. Maybe I haven't known him as long as you have, but in the time I have, I've learned that he would never hurt anybody intentionally. Especially those he loved," She stared at his masked face, knowing he had a point but not willing to believe it yet.

"Who are you?"

"I can't tell you that," She shook her head, frustrated and _hurt_ and just _freaking tired-_ "But I can tell you that Barry doesn't need your anger right now. You helped save his life, Iris. I know you care about him, and I know he cares about you, too. He was just as terrified to lose you as you were to lose him. So listen to his side of the story, please. That's all I'm asking."

The masked man parted with those final words, leaving her to dwell on their meaning.

He was right.

Barry didn't need another enemy right now.

Yes, she was hurting and yes, she had every right to be angry.

But God, _she almost_ _lost him._

Her questions could wait.

Right now she needed to know he was okay.

* * *

Oliver had hoped his words had hit home.

The last thing Barry needed after waking up was to be bombarded with Iris's anger.

He was having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that Rogers had been killed.

_He's dead?_

_I'm sorry Barry. It had to be done._

_He didn't deserve that, Ollie._

Sometimes Barry's never ending hope for people astounded Oliver.

He could hear that their converstaion was coming to an end and _no_ he wasn't eavesdropping but somebody had to be there in case their conversation turned South.

Somebody had to look out for Barry.

He waited until Iris walked away from where Barry laid in the makeshift hospital bed, before entering the room.

"That went surprisingly well," Barry said quietly as Oliver walked up to him, keeping his hood up just in case. "I know you talked to her, by the way." Oliver frowned.

"I-"

"She didn't tell me. I just know you," Barry grinned and Oliver found it to be contagious.

"So everything is alright? You're-"

"I'm okay," Barry said, and Oliver noticed the hint of sadness layering the tone. But he refrained from commenting on it. And on the drying tear stains that resided on his cheeks. "Seriously, Oliver," He lowered his voice in case Iris was still in earshot.

"Thanks for saving me back there." He paused, "But I'm really starting to hate abandoned warehouses," He sighed with a grimace and Oliver chuckled. "We really need to start working on not having every mission end up with one or both of us injured, ya' know," It was meant as a joke but Oliver absolutely agreed.

"I think I'm gonna' sleep some more, maybe it'll get rid of the jackhammer against my brain," Barry started leaning back and closing his eyes. "You don't have to stay and keep watch, ya' know." Oliver shrugged.

"I'm not keeping watch. I've just got some things to do around here-"

Barry huffed, with a small grin.

"Softie." He mumbled quietly, before his body relaxed into a peaceful slumber. Oliver shook his head in exasperation, yet there might have been fondness underlaying it.

Not that he would ever mention it to anybody.

_Especially_ Barry.

He already knew too much the way it was.

* * *

**I don't know why the idea of Barry and Oliver communicating in morse code popped in my head but I'm going to run with it because it's adorable.**


End file.
